Because Life isn't about reaching a destination, its about enjoying the journey.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

The President Is Coming

Saturday night and I was dead tired. I needed a break and wanted to watch a film. Only problem was that I was too tired to even step out of the house. So, when I saw that I could watch 'The President is Coming' on the Showcase feature of TataSky, I gladly jumped at the opportunity.

The film is about George W. Bush's 2006 visit to India. Among the many things on his itinerary is a meeting scheduled with a young Indian who will be responsible for shaping the face of the country tomorrow. The movie traces the Survivor-style elimination of six young Indians who want a chance to meet Bush. We find out more about the personal lives and expectations of these six candidates and the two judges through the 24 hours in which this contest takes place.

The film is a directorial debut and it is very evident in the manner in which it is executed. Add to this the fact that the film's script is based on the director's own popular play and you realise why you sat upright halfway through the film and said to yourself "Wouldn't stage actors do much better than the present crop on screen?"

The movie is fun to watch and brings out many typical Indian eccentricities. The script is light and there is no overwhelming dosage of "being Indian is better than being American".

My favourite episode in the film is when a US diplomat walking down a corridor with pictures of past US presidents on the walls realises that a broken photo frame, displaying the picture of George Bush senior, has been sent for repairs and has been replaced by a picture of Dharmendra. The tongue-in-cheek replies that he gets from the security guard and the peon are absolutely hillarious to watch.

The cast does its best to impress. However, the one person that stood out in his effort was Anand Tiwari (remember the guy from the Tata Tea 'jaago re' election commercial?). Not only does he act brilliantly as the scheming Gujarati stockbroker but is also the Assistant Line Producer and Assistant Director of this film. Watch out for this guy.

4 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Just watched a Rocumentry on Bob Dylan (directed by Martin Scorsese) and I should say it was awesome! Here is an interesting review (quite quondam :) ).http://jaiarjun.blogspot.com/2008/03/no-direction-home-and-bob-dylan-and.html

"And don't speak too soon..For the wheel's still in spin..And there's no tellin' who..That it's namin'..For the loser now..Will be later to win" (The times they are a changing - Bob Dylan)